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How to Master Portal Design

Disclaimer:
Please note that this edition was written in 2000. Therefore, statements
in the articles, particularly those regarding SAP's products, product strategy,
branding strategy, and organizational structure, may no longer be valid.

Users either Go through a Portal, or They Walk Away

The term portal contains a metaphor that refers to the way portals are used.
The original meaning of portal was a gateway, entrance or foyer providing access
to a building. Visitors gain an initial impression of a building from its portal,
which may be welcoming or threatening. The way visitors perceive a portal makes
them automatically draw their own conclusions as to what awaits them. Portals
always prompt visitors to make a decision: shall I enter the building or shall
I make a quick exit? An attractive portal makes you curious about what is inside
the building. An unattractive portal makes you feel uneasy. And if visitors
are unable to make a quick exit, then they do not feel comfortable or positive
about what awaits them. The Czech author Kafka described this beautifully in
his parable Vor dem Gesetz (Before the Law), where the appearance of
the portal and the doorkeeper deters the visitor to such an extent that the
latter dare not enter, and yet it was exclusively created for him.

The design of portals is of huge importance, as the metainformation they convey
greatly influences the attitude of a visitor. What kind of implicit messages
should a portal convey? And how should it be designed so that it is appealing
to visitors, helps them feel comfortable, find their way, and continue to look
around?
Transferring this to business portals, we ask ourselves: how do we design a
portal so that it functions, that is, so users do not have to think about operating
the portal but instead are just concerned with what the site has to offer? What
implicit messages should a portal be signaling, and how does it adapt to its
users?

What Do Users Expect from Portals?

When using a virtual business portal, you hope to find exactly what you would
expect from a physical portal:

You want to be able to instinctively understand how the portal or the building
functions

You want to be able to get your bearings as this makes you feel comfortable

You want to find what you need and expect

You want to go quickly to where you want to be

You do not want to have to operate the portal yourself but simply use it

You want to feel at ease as you are a human being and not a machine.

Using portals is a highly psychological and emotional experience. Like web
sites, portals should identify with their users and meet their needs. They should
simplify their users' work and must be adapted to the cognitive requirements
of the user (for example, the restrictions of the human short-term memory, ergonomic
aspects and so on).

What Are the Characteristics of Functioning Portals?

Portals that function are not always designed by an architect; they are the
ones based on the expectations and activities of their users that effectively
meet these expectations.

They are clearly structured. Their users instinctively understand the
structure, because they are familiar with this structure and it is not too complex.
A manageable structure enables users to find their way around and to make a
mental note of this structure. With a good structure, users can sketch if off
the top of their heads after using it for the first time. It is concise from
a user perspective and not from that of the developer.

They are easy to operate. This means that users can understand the paths
available to them. They can recognize what the portal has to offer and how to
use it. The portal uses a form of flat navigation and the applications, information,
and reports are just a few mouse clicks away.

They are appealing. They motivate users, arouse their curiosity to go
further, promise the visitor added value, and they keep that promise. Their
look and feel is designed to appeal, has an aesthetic quality, and at the same
time is state-of-the-art in terms of usability.

They lead into an enclosed area and not into infinity. Who enjoys working
in a warehouse? Isn't an individual desk a better working platform? People want
to know what they are doing. They want to stay in control and be able to follow
what is going on. A good portal leads into a clearly structured building and
not into a maze.

They can be personalized. Users can adapt the portal to their needs
and way of working. They can personalize what they want to find in the portal
and where they want to find this. Microsoft made the first forays into personalizing
user interfaces with its information nuggets. In the future it will not be the
users who adapt to the software, but rather the software that adapts to the
users and their activities.

And finally, effective portals promote communication. After all, who
wants to be alone in a building? These days, work processes are increasingly
team-oriented. Dialog between human beings helps them users move forward together
and discover new problem-solving strategies. A portal also functions like a
marketplace where people meet and communicate with one another. Portals represent
a new type of approach to using computers and net-based work environments. What
Terry Winograd und Brenda Laurel envisaged, is now being widely used under a
new name.